At&t Unit Asks Trustee For Nbcc

March 11, 1986|By Jim McNair, Business Writer

Facing a $2.5 million writeoff on telephones for which it was never paid, AT&T Information Systems Inc. is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to appoint a trustee to manage the affairs of NBCC Cellular Inc. in Pompano Beach.

NBCC and its sister National Business Communications Corp., a seller and installer of commercial telephone switches, filed for reorganization last Oct. 29. The biggest part of its debt, the $2.5 million, is owed to AT&T for cellular mobile telephone equipment that NBCC sold as an exclusive local distributor.

In a motion filed in bankruptcy court, AT&T alleges that NBCC officers grossly mismanaged the company and acted dishonestly toward the company and its creditors. AT&T says former management made loans to themselves and related companies and that current management has failed to diligently pursue those debts.

Former NBCC President Vincent Mulhall and Executive Vice President Lawrence Jordan resigned when they placed the companies under Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection. That left Samuel Lunt, who joined NBCC in March 1985 to take charge of operations and finance, in full control of the company.

Lunt has told the court that he expects NBCC Cellular to recover financially. But that depends in large part on the court classifying AT&T`s claim as an unsecured debt, which means that AT&T would not benefit from a court- supervised distribution of NBCC`s assets.

If a trustee is not appointed, AT&T says an examiner should investigate. NBCC attorney David Levine of Miami said AT&T filed the motion primarily to speed up distribution of assets, even though it has not been determined whether AT&T has a secured claim. Lunt could not be reached for comment.

In contending that NBCC was mismanaged, AT&T alleges that NBCC underwent a ``disastrous dissipation`` of $3.8 million in assets over six months ending last Aug. 30. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating NBCC`s finances for nearly six months.